Logotype

A logotype is a method of typesetting in which two or more characters are combined on one type , the so-called logotype . The aim of the process was to increase the speed of setting when typing manually.

history

As early as 1682, the chemist Johann Joachim Becher presented ideas for a logotype system in his book Foolish Wisdom and Wise Foolishness, but the implementation failed due to financial resources.

The French François-Paul Barletti de Saint-Paul (1734–1809) made the first practical use of the logotype . In 1776, in Paris, he published the font Nouveau systeme typographique au moyen de diminuer de moité le travail et les frais de composition, de correction et de distribution (Eng .: New typographical system by means of which the work and the costs of the typesetter, des Corrector and offshoot can be reduced by half). He suggested the use of syllable characters. In 1792 he received 20,000 francs from the French government to help develop his project.

Henry Johnson, an English typesetter, developed a system in 1778 that summarized frequently used syllables on a font. After patenting his system, he sold it to John Walter , owner of The Times. From then on he called it System Walter .

The first logotype system in Germany was used by Menck, the owner of a book printing company in Hamburg. He spoke about this at the Gutenberg celebration in 1840. The system built on developments in England.

Further developments with the aim of reducing the workload were made in Vienna, Zurich, London and Sarajevo. Among the developers were also prominent people such as Charles Stanhope and William Caslon .

Logotype did not prove itself in hand typesetting , in machine typesetting it was only used with the Linotype ideal typesetting machine, which remained an exception.

Quick set competition

In a competition in quick typesetting around 1850, the typesetter W. Hughes and Major Beniowski competed against each other with his newly invented logo type system, whereby the conventional typesetter was faster. This showed the limits of the logo type system: The many additional compartments in the type case make the work complicated, especially filing it took too much time.

White's word and summation system

The Viennese typesetter Leopold Weiß (* 1840; † 1923) developed the word and sum system , which is considered the most perfect logotype system. He built on the Charactéres sténotypes of the type founder A. Pinard from Paris. White's system consists of 39 figures that combine two or three letters. He implemented his system for numerous languages, with his logo type case containing 668 compartments, the largest even over 1200. When placing a bet, he reached 3500 letters per hour. Although White was now facing competition from the typesetting machine, he continued to develop his system.

Reasons for the failure of logotype systems

The possible gain in time when composing the summarized syllables is negated by the complicated structure of the type case, since the typesetter has to keep the large number of subjects in mind when setting and filing. The size of the type case increases significantly and the typesetter's arm has to cover longer distances to reach all compartments. Incorrectly classified types are also more difficult to find again. Finally, logotype systems were also more expensive to purchase or manufacture. Ultimately, due to these disadvantages, none of the logotype systems could prevail, especially since the emerging typesetting machines promised a better way of increasing the typesetting speed.

Individual evidence

^ Severin Corsten, Stephan Füssel, u. a. (Ed.): Lexicon of the entire book industry. 2nd Edition. Volume IV. Anton Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1995, p. 596, ISBN 3-7772-8527-7 .

literature

Hans-Jürgen Wolf: History of the graphic process. A contribution to the history of technology. Historia Verlag, Dornstadt 1990, ISBN 3-980-0257-4-8
Sepp Dußler, Fritz Kolling: Modern typesetting. 4th edition. Verlag Documentation Saur KG, Pullach 1974, ISBN 3-7940-8703-8
Severin Corsten, Stephan Füssel, a. a. (Ed.): Lexicon of the entire book industry. 2nd Edition. Volume IV. Anton Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-7772-8527-7

[Lexikon_des_gesamten_Buchwesens-1] Severin Corsten, Stephan Füssel, u. a. (Ed.): Lexicon of the entire book industry. 2nd Edition. Volume IV. Anton Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1995, p. 596, ISBN 3-7772-8527-7 .